Sample Magazine Archives

International Living Magazine aims at providing a scope and depth of information about global travel, living, retiring, investing, and real estate that is not available anywhere else at any price. Our sample issue gives you a taste of what is on offer each and every month, from how to stretch your dollars to simplifying your life overseas...

There was a time when Portugal was viewed as the “poor cousin” of Western Europe. For decades it was overlooked by tourists and expats who instead flocked to the neighboring countries of Spain, France, and Italy, in search of better weather, beautiful beaches, intriguing history and culture, and a higher quality of life with lower costs.

“I offer a tour where I teach people how to be mermaids,” says Carmen Adriana Mantione. “I have a partnership with a hotel on the beach road with a cenote on the property. We can swim out into the open water, and we have special permission to go on the Tulum reef in our tails if the weather permits.”

I thought I knew what to expect the first time I came to Oaxaca. I was sure that I’d see some grand Baroque churches, cool colonial-era buildings, and some impressive street art, and I’d heard that Oaxaca was the capital of mezcal, the smoky, tequila-like drink that comes from the agave cactus. I’d seen Oaxacan handicrafts before, even in the U.S.

"My biggest fear in retirement is waking up and not having any idea what I am going to do that day,” says David Lucero. But David’s fears have never been realized...because he went in search of an overseas adventure. His travels began with an epiphany in his office. “Back in 2013 I was working in Houston, Texas, and at that time I was around 62.

"Just getting the foreman to use a spirit level was a huge struggle,” says New Yorker, Dek Tillet, about building a dream home on an Ecuador mountainside. But what a house it is! The master bedroom has floor-to-ceiling windows that literally hang out over the valley, and the infinity pool seems to flow right over the edge of the mountain.

The Treaty of Trianon. You’ve likely never heard of it. It happened in the summer of 1920, a year after the Treaty of Versailles, the summit that ended World War I. Trianon carved up the Hungarian Empire, the eastern half of what had been the Austro-Hungarian Empire. That cleavage left the new country of Hungary with about 7.6 million people...

More and more, U.S. citizens are taking advantage of opportunities to purchase overseas vacation homes, investment properties, and places to settle in retirement. And while the thrill of finding that coastal hacienda where you can bury your feet in the sand is intoxicating, it’s just as vital to understand the practical implications of your purchase.

We were captivated by the natural jungle here,” says Jeff McConnaughey of his overseas home. “When we first visited, as we walked through the foliage underneath these towering palm trees, we saw toucans perched high above, peregrine falcons soaring across the rushing river, and cute little agoutis scrambling about the forest floor. It was mesmerizing.”

Liquor, ladies, and leverage… According to Warren Buffet, these are the only three ways a smart person can go broke. As a happily married teetotaler, I’m not an authority on the perils of liquor and ladies, but I can tell you why leverage is—despite Buffett’s quippy remark—one of the most powerful tools a real estate investor can have.